Developing a Philippine Philosophy

The purpose of this page is to attempt to outline some common
thoughts and ideas in the belief and wisdom systems of the
pre-colonial Filipinos and the modern Filipino tribal beliefs.
The more commonly recurring themes will be organized in an
effort to develop a Pan-Philippine philosophy. Such a philosophy
should represent ideas and thoughts widely attested enough
to classify as geographically endemic to the island nation.
Only very obvious foreign borrowings will be neglected
here, no inquiry will be made into the proposed theories
of borrowing so commonly found in Western scholarship.

This certainly is not the first attempt at piecing together
a Filipino philosophical system, although most previous attempts
have concentrated on Filipino Christian rather than indigenous
culture. In some cases, Filipino thinkers like Isabelo De
Los Reyes have tried to blend in indigenous elements into
local Christian thought.

One might ask, 'what is the need for a Philippine philosophy?'
The answer might lie in the fact that most 'successful' nations,
by which we mean success in terms of political, social and
economic stability, have formulated philosophies that are at least
partly indigenous. Japan, for example, struggled greatly to
incorporate Western approaches to technology, government, etc.,
but it eventually had to do so by compromising to traditional
elements who demanded a Japanese approach. Thus, Japanese corporations,
despite seemingly following Western models on a superficial
examination; in fact, in the most important practices use distinctly
Japanese approaches. The ideas of social darwinism and cutthroat
competition are mostly rejected. Japanese businesses are organized
in large business families which include small new businesses and
established corporations that all help each other survive. Competition
occurs only between different business families, so within the
system of competition there is an even more important system of
a social community modeled more on Confucianist/Buddhist/Shintoist
thought.

Borrowed Thinking

The problem in the Philippines lies in its thought processes
being borrowed mostly from the outside. In ordinary social dealings,
the Filipino traits still survive and predominate, but Filipinos
have been unable to develop a modern philosophy that would enable
them to adapt foreign thought to the indigenous mind and
attitude. Serafin Talisayon has created a diagram showing some
prominent Filipino social values found among mainstream modern
Filipinos:

Obviously, some of these like colonial mentality are modern
traits, and others like cosmopolitanism might even be challenged
as being truly descriptive of Filipinos. However, many of
the values above can be traced to indigenous thinking.

We will try to trace some of these ideas and introduce
others from other sources to begin to develop a truly
indigenous Philippine philosophy, or at least to close
as possible to achieving this task.

Cosmology

The Filipinos almost all possessed ideas of an active
creation by God, the Demiurge. Generally speaking, it the
active creator was not necessarily the Supreme God, for
both Bathala and Diwata, the creator gods of different
parts of the Philippines, are in some cases said to have
a "father." In other belief, systems the Supreme God acts
as creator in a different manifestation than the normal
one. For example, among some Bagobo tribes, the Supreme
God, Kerenen, becomes Megbeveya as the creator, sustainer
and ruler of the universe, and Midlimbag, as creator of
the earth.

The idea of active creation being performed not by the
Supreme Principle, but by the "son" or manifestation of this
entity points to the idea that the Supreme God in the highest
form was not an active agent. This belief is fortified by
widespread notions that the highest God was located "beyond
the beyond" i.e., that God could not be located in any geographic
or spatial sense; and that the same entity was so far beyond
our comprehension that the true name of God could not be uttered
(it could not even be known).

Possibly, this highest form of God had some of the naturalistic
characteristics found in the beliefs of other peoples and among
the ancient faith of Aten in Egypt. There are creation myths in different
parts of the Philippines that point to a interaction of opposites between
very natural elements that results in the primal creation. Loarca
mentioned one belief in which the universe is without beginning, but
the creation of life is initiated by the "marriage" of the sea
breeze, which would represent the masculine principle, and the land
breeze, the feminine. Another similar myth tells how creation comes
about by the somewhat antagonistic interaction between the sea, which
here represents the feminine, and the heavens, the masculine. Such
concepts are very similar to the idea of yin and yang in China, the ultimate
manifestation of which is the interaction of heaven and earth resulting
in creation. In fact, the myth of the primal sea below heaven pre existing
at the point of creation is a common one not only in the Philippines,
but among many Malay-Polynesian peoples. However, unlike some myths
in Polynesia and on the island of Nias, there are few ideas of
evolutionary developments in the creation of the earth and its life.
In most Philippine myths, these are created quite suddenly. One theme
has the earth created by God dropping a stone from heaven into the
primal sea! Interestingly enough, the physical universe in this
myth is symbolized by the sea, while the spirit world is the sky.
In fact, an idea of our earth as a stone floating in the sea
is remarkably accurate in a symbolic sense!

Duality

However, before this duality there was a nonpolar creation
or evolution brought about by the thought and will of the Supreme
principle, or a manifestation of the same. Such ideas can be found
from the North to the South, from the Ilokanos to the Bagobos. This
is probably more of a transformation than creation. The Supreme
God, in the highest form, is beyond are comprehension and our knowledge
of space, time and language. However, in another manifestation possibly
brought on by something similar to an evolutionary process (we really are
unable to understand), God becomes the active Creator. The universe
and the other life forms are willed into existence by this manifestation
of the Supreme. Sometimes, this form of God only creates the other
divine beings, with the physical world being created by yet another
manifestation. When the creator appears as the "son" of the Ultimate
Deity, there is a blurry line between the two suggesting unity, and a
situation not much different from that of the creator being only a
manifestation of the Supreme God.

Although God in the highest manifestation was seen as distant,
the people or individual could call upon even this form in times of
distress. Only for regular mundane activities and problems was this
considered inappropriate. There indeed was some logic in the Philippine
idea that the highest God was not to be approached except in near
emergencies or on a periodic basis for worship. The Filipino could
easily surmise that God did not appear before us, or speak
directly to us, but instead stayed "beyond the beyond." The Filipino seems
to have respected this distance that God had chosen. Instead, the
Filipino conceived that God had helper spirits, often know as anito
or diwata, who were assigned to assist humans and others in regular
mundane matters. These might be the Philippine equivalent of the
"angel" in Abrahamic religions. But as these diwata were also
invisible, how did the Filipino surmise these were more accessible
than the Supreme God?

The answer here lies in the idea that Filipinos shared with
most other animist peoples. The Filipino did witness evidence
of these diwata and anitos in the natural phenomena and the
other events occurring in their lives. The movement of the wind,
the revolution of the luminaries, planets and stars, the seasonal
rains, etc., etc., were all seen to be motivated by spiritual forces
assigned to this task. Like all animists, the Filipino saw all
objects and phenomena has inhabited or governed by spirits. The
Filipino was firmly convinced in the immortality of human and all other spirits, and
saw evidence that these continued after death. One may question
their judgement in the light of modern Western ideas, but even today
surveys have shown that even most Westerners believe in life after
death. The cyclical nature of events must have convinced the Filipino,
as it did others, that certain spirits governed certain phenomena, and
thus prevented chaos from prevailing in the cosmos. For it was
the order of the these cycles, particularly the seasons and the cycle
of agriculture, that allowed life to go on in an orderly fashion.

Respect for Nature

In light of such beliefs it is not surprising that the ancient
Filipino had a great respect for nature. The relevant spirits were
first addressed before practically any undertaking, or even many
ordinary activities. Much of this respect for nature has been lost
by Filipinos looking elsewhere for their models. The result has been
destruction of rain forests, rare coral reefs and the like. The
Spanish noted how the Filipinos originally used large mesh nets to
allow the younger fish to survive and spawn, but how the example
of the Spanish caused them to change to small mesh and nearly destroy
the fisheries in the process. For some reason, often the most valuable
elements of the old culture are lost, while the more "superstitious"
and silly elements survived. However, at least a few of the more honorable
beliefs and practices of the ancients also seemed to have survived
into the present.

So great was the ancient Filipino's respect for nature that they
addressed other creatures and even inanimate objects with terms
of respect, for example, the Ilokanos even addressed the rice plant
as Apo Pagay "Lord Rice Plant." In taking from nature, the Filipino
thus was borrowing in a cycle that was mutually beneficial
and structured according to a cosmic balance. Humans themselves were
seen as composed of the elements; either three or four of the following:
earth, water, fire and wind. Sometimes, other elements also come into
the picture. At death, a person's body returns to the elements, and thus
nourishes the earth by means of these elements. We
do not only take but also give. To abuse the balance of nature was
one of the great sins.

Such a balance also extended into the spirit world and provided
for the shamanistic dualism found in Philippine belief. As stated
previously, at times the conflict between polar opposites was seen
as a reason for the creation of the physical universe itself. This
is quite different from views found elsewhere in which the battle
of dark and light result in destruction rather than creation. In
the Philippines, the benefic and malefic spirits are not necessarily
seen as good and bad. More often than not both are seen as divine
and good, representing only different but necessary aspects of life.
If evil is represented, it is in those created beings of this world,
and those in the "underworld" who have chosen to do evil. The malefic
spirits have not chosen to do evil, but only do that which they are assigned
in the divine order. For humans, the need is to balance the positive
and negative natural forces, and to enlist the aid of the higher
entities in dealing with the actual malevolent beings.

Balance

The idea balance recurs in the beliefs of the Filipinos. In their
natural healing systems, diseases, conditions, foods, medicines, etc.,
are most often classified according to their hot/cold, high/low, fast/slow,
etc., categories. Maintaining proper health means maintaining proper
balance. In the same sense, the life of the individual and the order
of society also depend on balancing the different forces. While
foreign commentators have sometimes tried to paint the practice
of head-hunting among certain Philippine tribes as barbaric, the
reality was really quite different. Previous to the coming of
the Europeans, large-scale warfare was rather rare on the islands.
The Igorots had no history of such wars until their conflicts
with the Spanish (e.g., the Battle of Kiangan). Just as the
bloody conquests of Kamehameha marked a new stage
of warfare in the history of Hawai'i, so did the Philippines evolve
after contact with Westerners. Previous to foreign contact, the idea
of balance largely prevented such massive bloodlettings.
In the event of violence by neighboring villages or clans, the
object was not to totally destroy or subjugate the enemy, but
simply to bring about balance again by inflicting a similar type
of attack. The taking of heads was thus almost a sacred act, which
symbolized the maintenance of order. In this way, the violent
passions that could possibly lead to much greater genocidal conflict
was most often averted. Possibly, the concept of taking scalps
among the Native Indians of America was based on similar thought.

By maintaining the balance, society insured that the
ecological system would continue to provide food, that chaotic
wars would not prevail, that the health of the body would be
maintained, and so on. One cannot underestimate the importance of this
concept among early Filipinos. The Sun, symbolizing the male
principle, was used to represent the Supreme God as Kabunian, or
by other names. Actually, in the highest form the Supreme God
was seen in the heavens (Apo Langit), but in the creative form
as the Sun. The Moon, symbolizing the feminine, became the wife
of the Sun, and thus, the cycles of Sun and Moon represented the
continuous interplay of opposites. Practically everything one
could imagine was divided according to polarity: solar/lunar,
right-hand/left-hand, etc., in order that this idea of balance
in nature escaped no one.

Interestingly enough, among all Malay-Polynesian peoples,
including the Filipino, few concepts of the growing decay
of the universe leading to cataclysmic destruction exist.
This is one of the strongest reasons for rejecting the too
common suggestions of foreign influence in Malay-Polynesian
belief systems. For Hindu-Buddhist religions all share the
belief in the coming destruction of the universe due to a
buildup of evil forces. There might be a very easy explanation for
the non-apocalyptic views of the Malay-Polynesian other than
simple optimism. In the Philippines, we can see this
most strongly in the emphasis placed on the mythical hero's
journeys to the higher heavens. Possibly, no other culture
places so much importance in crossing from earth to heaven
before passing through the gates of death. In fact, among
some myth traditions these journeys seem to have been common
place even for ordinary people. The Philippine myths give
very vivid descriptions of the bridges, vaults, staircases,
etc., that lead to heaven and the gates one encountered upon
reaching the destination.

Optimism

All this emphasis points to the idea that the Malay-Polynesian
really was not concerned with whether the physical universe
was destroyed or not! They were too obsessed with how life
would be after passing into the great beyond. Thus, two
very key interpretations can be made; one points toward
the great optimism in Philippine belief, the other towards the
emphasis in looking toward the future and the unknown.

The optimism is again displayed by the widespread belief
that all spirits of all creatures (not just humans) eventually
would rise to the highest heaven, which most commonly was the
one below that inhabited by the highest manifestation of God.
However, in reality, it was not really below this heaven
in a spatial sense. Indeed, the Filipinos often
believed in multiple infinite universes existing simultaneously,
but not really occupying the same space (as with modern
dimensions). Indeed, the idea of endless universes existing
at the same time, but never crossing over the same space was
never a difficult concept to ancient Filipinos. They never
dreamed of limiting such cosmic ideas with their own restricted
concepts of space and dimension. The heavens could exist in
different realities and different "spaces" which in no way were related
to our spatial reality. Thus, while the Western concept has
universes occupying the same space but in different dimensions,
in the Philippines, they do not occupy the same space, but different realities.
Just as one would not apply spatial dimensions to the world
of one's dreams, the same would apply to the different heavens.
Now, the idea of stacked spatial heavens also existed, but these
were finite and different than the infinite variety. The idea
of not limiting one's thought was important to Filipinos. Thus,
it was ludicrous to try to conceive of the name of God as this
was beyond our comprehension, just as the image of God was
impossible for humans to conceive. To be able to form a single
image of God would be limiting God to our manifestly feeble powers of
understanding.

Returning though, to the idea of all creatures reaching
heaven, this obviously is much more optimistic than
some other belief systems. The idea is shared with most
of those in the Eastern world and among the "indigenous"
peoples. However, it does not mean that no justice exists
in the afterlife. The Filipinos believed evildoers went to
the lower worlds, the equivalents of the Christian hell, or
purgatory to be more precise. However, eventually all these
souls would by some natural law evolve toward the same
place as all other souls. One could possibly conceive that
eventually the sufferings of the lower worlds would purge evil
intention from all beings. The idea that even the vilest
among us, and the "lowest" of creatures eventually reach a
position closest to God cannot but give us the idea that the
unity of existence was an underlying theme. In the South,
the epic hero journeys toward the horizon, the point
where the Sun rises, the meeting place of heaven and earth or
sea. It is here at the point of contact of the great masculine
and the great feminine that the fiery gates of heaven are located.
If one reaches these gates, the fire transforms one's body
back to the elements. The spirit, being closest to fire, is
thus brought into heaven. If one does not reach the fiery gate,
then upon death the spirit is bound to the other elements on
earth. Thus, the ultimate quest is towards heaven, towards
the final home, which is the highest heaven, and towards our
creator. We all will get there some day, but some will take
more indirect, difficult paths than others.

Universal Spirit (Laon)

With such ideas of unity, we might wonder whether the
Filipino had any pantheistic concept or any thought of everything
being made of the same "God-stuff" as found in other cultures.
Nothing spells this out specifically, but there are indications
towards some similar type of concept. Among the Ilokanos,
each human was a microcosm of the the universe, a "cosmic
man" (or, woman). Thus, the universe itself, was seen as
one great single body composed of interdependent systems and
parts. Many Filipinos believed that more than one spirit
inhabited each body. These spirits had separate identities
and could be at different places at the same time, yet they
were one and the same. In a way, it was the concept of the
trinity, but found in every human, and often, in every
creature. In the North, the spirits other than the main one
that gives us our personality were known as "kaddua" =
"companion."

Summarizing

In concluding, we will attempt to provisionally isolate
some key points in the philosophical thought of the
indigenous Filipino. These thoughts might usefully be reapplied
to our own lifes and to our society. If indeed there
is any truth to modern concepts such as racial memory and
local adaptation, or more spiritual ideas as ancestral baggage
and a local spirit of the land, then re accommodation of
such thinking will be fruitful for us. It will provide the
missing indigenous component to our advancement.

I. Optimism. The idea that all beings gravitate eventually
toward the higher good.

II. Forward-looking. Focusing on the approaching horizon.
On the world to come, which can mean our future on earth as
well as the afterlife.

III. Respecting nature. Believing that all things, if not
inhabited by spirits themselves, are at least, governed
by spiritual authorities. The Filipino never developed
the idea of ahimsa, or absolute nonviolence. This is not
surprising given the high importance assigned to plant life
in the region. It would be impossible to respect absolutely
both plant and animal life and still survive. Yet, the
Filipino sought to limit and balance the taking of life,
including the taking of other human lives. Modern practicalities
again demand that we defend ourselves in the modern paradigm,
yet we can defend ourselves in a manner in which the ultimate
result is the protection of all life.

IV. Reviving non-rationalizing, nonspatial, non-limited
thought. Opening the mind to the non-comprehensible.
Freeing our mind from preconception and the limitations of
our own experience.

V. Understanding and respecting the meaning of balance.

VI. Opening our minds to polycentrism - the idea of
that different systems can exist harmoniously without
the need of all smaller or weaker systems to be assimilated
by the larger ones. We should orient ourselves towards
the protection and preservation of the weakest members
of our fellow beings.

VII. Realize unity. The universe after all is one great body.

VIII. Realize diversity. If each body can have more than one
spirit, why not a nation, or the world as a whole? Unity can
be realized in diversity (the arm does not battle with the
leg, trying to change it into an arm).